Apple has lost the rights to the trademark "iPhone" in Brazil to a local manufacturer which makes an Android phone called the iPhone NEO. Yesterday the Brazilian Trademark and Patents Office rejected Apple's claims to the trademark "iPhone" in the category of telecoms and the category of electronic devices.
"Registration …

Android fans will ge their teeth kicked in and by Samsung

Samsung's team pushed very hard in 2012 to get their "market share" numbers up to sail past Apple's iPhone in order to ride their new found momentum into 2013 and into all-new territory with a new operating system. That will sting Google's Android whose only star player is Samsung.

Thats right! A new Korean report states that Samsung is going to try a breakaway move from Google with its own operating system and perhaps a new Samsung Store for online shoppers. Now that Samsung Electronics has emerged as a global smartphone leader, it must correct its one glaring weakness: Software. Samsung is reported about to introduce its very own operating system at the Mobile World Congress at the end of this month. Samsung will showcase a high-end phone running on the new OS to a closed group of clients.

Samsung officially announced that it plans to release the phone within this year.

And poor el-Reg cant bring you the news because they're too slow milking click-throughs working up the Fandroids against Appletards.

@Dana W

quote: "Remember, this is where the Android (and Windows) fanbois come to play.

ANY attempt to defend Apple in any way will meet with the total disapproval of the Android children, and ther true revealed faith.

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I'd like to thank everyone in this thread for making my point for me."

I'd have to say that your comments do seem to fly a little close to "true revealed faith" territory themselves, you know. Are you implying that a trademark applied for in 2000 should be nullified because another manufacturer created a product with the same name in a different country, seven years later? The first iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 (according to wikifiddlers, anyway), which is definitely prior to the grant of trademark, but is seven years after the application by Gradiente.

On a purely logical basis, the trademark and patent system would have to be first come, first served. Since this is what has appeared to happen in Brazil (2000 is definitely before 2007, when Apple applied), I can only assume that you are advocating that large companies should be able to shortcut the system because they have done something in an entirely different jurisdiction? Are you implying that the US Trademark granted to Apple should have precedence worldwide?

I'm sure you are a very nice person, but you do appear to be (deliberately?) ignoring some of the basic facts of this story in your rush to tar anyone who disagrees with your (implied) opinion as some sort of mindless "fanboi" of an alternative phone operating system. I hate to be the adult in the room, but an OS is just a tool the same as the phone itself; the issue here is one of naming rights not hardware capabilities, and I cannot honestly find fault with the way it has been handled. Brazil, as an independant coutry with sovereign rights, are at liberty to handle this any way they see fit. They have handled it exactly in accordance with their own statutes, and since Dec 2012 is contained within the 5 year period from 2008 (I note that article does not state the date in 2008 that marks the start of the 5 year period) Gradiente would appear to have satisfied their obligations to keep the trademark.

Lets see how the appeal by Apple turns out. That will speak volumes about Brazil's legislative structure, and tolerance to bribery, not this decision :)